Showcasing their outstanding determination, ingenuity, and commitment to educational excellence, the Cyclones’ team earned a spot at the national competition in Washington, D.C., from February 15th to 19th!
Future City is an engaging, hands-on program designed for students in grades 6 through 8, bridging STEM concepts with real-world challenges. Through the Engineering Design Process, students address a citywide sustainability issue and present their solutions to the world via the Future City platform (futurecity.org).
Although Wyoming currently does not host its own Future City competition, the CY Middle School Cyclones enthusiastically and graciously were given the opportunity to enter the North Dakota competition. This year’s competition, Above the Current, challenged participants to envision a floating city 100 years into the future.
With a focus on creating innovative solutions that prioritize safety, health, and environmental sustainability, students were pushed to think creatively and design a forward-thinking metropolis for tomorrow’s citizens. “This challenge required students to manage a project and determine its success. They had to think like engineers, city planners, and problem solvers, tackling real-world complex issues with innovative solutions. They also had to work as a team,” shared Whitney Wilking, CYMS Gifted & Talented Program teacher. “Regardless of how they placed in the competition, I couldn’t be prouder of them.”
The CY Cyclones embarked on their project by diving into thorough research, exploring a wide array of potential solutions for energy sources, waste management, transportation, infrastructure, and, most importantly, how to keep their floating city afloat. With their research in hand, the team came together for collaborative brainstorming sessions, where their creativity and collective genius took center stage as they planned the next steps forward.
The strength of their teamwork is evident in how they reflect on the process, “I feel like no person was left out. Every single person in this classroom put work into this project,” said Charlotte Jozwick. “That is what I love about GT; no one is really ever left out. We all compile our ideas and find a way to get them to work in harmony.” Eddie Koch emphasized how that harmony continued throughout the project: "We started with our main ideas, and everyone sprinkled in ideas as we went along. This class works really well as a team. We have a lot of synergy.”
Leveraging each team member’s strengths, the group used that synergy to create a project environment where everyone excelled in their areas of interest. Eager to contribute their visionary ideas to the broader conversation about the cities of the future, students jumped into designing and creating their city. The CY Cyclones created a floating city, ‘Sitnalta,’ found in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil. The city is situated on the equator and is protected from hurricanes and other natural disasters thanks to the Coriolis effect. The Cyclones’ model imaginatively displays the city's hexagonal pod layout and wind, solar, ocean thermal energy conversion, and tidal energy sources. The students showcased their artistic creativity using recycled materials to complete the model with unique buildings, dense vegetation, and underwater features.
Landon Rush was enthusiastic about his work designing the city's layout for maximum efficiency, “I got the opportunity to have a large part in constructing the model. My favorite part was designing some of the buildings and putting them together.” Working with the city's infrastructure, Eddie Koch appreciated the opportunity to engage in systematic problem-solving. “My favorite thing about this project is that it made me tap into my engineering brain. It made me realize how complex infrastructure is and how many things have to be correct just to get the city to float.”
Landon Bowman focused on the city's sustainability, from energy to agriculture, with ideas to keep citizens fed using fish farms, vertical agriculture, and aquaponics, “My favorite part of this project was making the city renewable. It was just very fun.” As a project lead, Amber Hale appreciated the project scope and its opportunity to further develop her leadership skills: "One of my favorite things about working on this project was learning leadership skills. I got to step out of my comfort zone and make decisions for the team.”
An integral component of the project's success, students had the opportunity to work alongside a mentor engineer, gaining real-world insight into the field. Volunteering his time, Alan Corey from CEPI provided invaluable guidance and expertise throughout the project. “We were fortunate to collaborate with Alan, who helped our students see that engineering is, at its core, all about problem-solving. His guidance not only enhanced their technical understanding but also showed them how engineering shapes the world around us,” shared Whitney Wilking.
“Mentoring these students throughout the Future City Competition was an incredibly rewarding experience. Seeing their problem-solving skills and teamwork evolve over the course of the project was inspiring,” shared Alan Corey. “My favorite moment, of course, has to be seeing the excitement on their faces when they realized they won 1st place at the regional competition and earned their place at the national competition in Washington DC. They took the challenge presented to them this year head on, thought outside the box, and truly demonstrated what the future engineers, scientists, and leaders are capable of.”
After months of collaboration, creativity, research, planning, and revision, the team's hard work culminated with a well-designed and skillfully crafted project presentation. As a team performer, Natalie Poulsen was honored to present the team's final vision and project to the judges: “Presenting was really fun, getting to talk to the judges and show them our project. And I got to work with my friends, writing a script and performing with them.”
The CY Cyclones' triumph in the Future City project stands as a shining example of educational excellence, showcasing the power of creativity, confidence, and problem-solving. Their innovative approach and determination have earned them a well-deserved spot in the national competition; this achievement reflects not only their hard work but also the inspiring potential of future leaders in science, engineering, and technology.
CY Middle School is committed to implementing a high-quality curriculum with fidelity, teaching and modeling expectations for academics and character, demonstrating their commitment to excellence in all interactions, and providing a safe and healthy learning environment.